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Gürdeniz warns of 'perception management' after 4th missile fired from Iran toward Turkey: Critical questions remain unanswered

Retired Admiral Cem Gürdeniz shared a striking assessment on his social media account following the 4th missile fired from Iran toward Turkey.

12punto

The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) announced that a ballistic munition, determined to have been launched from Iran and which entered Turkish airspace, was neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The MSB statement further stated that necessary measures are being taken with determination against any threat to Turkey's airspace and territory, and that developments in the region are being closely monitored.

As the war between Iran and America enters its first month, Turkey has faced the threat of a ballistic missile for the 4th time during this period. Just like the others, this missile was also destroyed by NATO's air defense assets.

While the missile attacks continue to be debated, a striking assessment came from retired Admiral and 12punto columnist Cem Gürdeniz. Emphasizing that there are questions awaiting answers during this period, Gürdeniz stated the following:

The MSB announced today that a ballistic munition, stated to have been launched from Iran, was heading toward Turkish airspace and was shot down by NATO air and missile defense assets stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean.

However, as in the previous three incidents, there are still critical questions awaiting answers.

Where is the radar track of the missile? What route did it take, and at what altitude was it hit? Which asset engaged it? (Currently, there is no other asset in the Eastern Mediterranean capable of this engagement other than US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.) 

Turkey's radar and early warning infrastructure, extending from Kürecik to Anamur, has the capacity to reveal this data; therefore, abstract statements are not sufficient. 

On the other hand, while news of a NATO corps in Adana and a NATO maritime component command at the entrance of the Istanbul Strait is on the agenda, every time missiles are fired, the emphasis that Turkey was  “protected by NATO” in these statements creates the impression of a powerful perception operation. 

In short, the perception that “the missile was fired from Iran” and the perception that “the missile in question was intercepted by NATO assets in the Mediterranean” are constantly being repeated.

The Turkish nation is reading this perception message.

However, the real picture is different. The ammunition problem of NATO, which the US has sidelined, is being discussed; the readiness level of European armies is being questioned; and it is seen that even the UK is struggling to dispatch ships to its base in Cyprus. 

In other words, NATO needs fresh blood and voluntary extras. 

Despite the unlimited military, financial, and political support provided to Kyiv in the Russia-Ukraine War, NATO has failed to achieve its goals in this war. 

Therefore, it is desired that a major country like Turkey actively break its neutral position regarding Russia and join their side as an enemy of Russia.

Ankara, which has entered a very serious financial crisis, will host the 2026 NATO summit in less than 100 days. For this reason, projects that will provide prestige at the summit are also needed for the bureaucrats in Ankara and NATO sympathizers.

While Turkey criticizes the Gaza massacre on one hand and defends the interests of the Palestinian people, on the other hand, it acts like a kind of advertising agency for NATO, which provides the greatest political and partially military support to Israel and the US, who are effectively at war in Iran.  It acts like a kind of advertising agency.

In such an environment, Turkey being steered so much into NATO's wake creates strategic risks in the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Caspian basin. 

Turkey is not an extra; it must base its actions on its own air defense and its own sovereignty reflexes, disclose technical data, and be extremely careful against such directions that smell of false flags.

Turkey must protect its neutral regime and, as it did during the Second World War and the Cold War years, it should not be a tool for the provocations and manipulations of any side around it.